Evelyn, you would like Glen Beck. I find him levelheaded and reasonable. Not on MSNBC, maybe Fox. he further criticized O for not "speaking out" about the Gaza situation. (Karen), Uh, we only have one president at a time. Sorry but I think BH who speaks with the "President Elect" sign in front of his podium, acting Presidential, should have made a comment. The Middle East is a serious political issue that will not go away, and many are hoping that BO will make a difference. BO is taking the easy way out on this issue today and that is wrong.

(Moon) "President Elect" sign in front of his podium, acting Presidential, should have made a comment. The sitting president already made comments. For all of you who believe in courtesy and respect, it wouldn't do for the country to speak to the world with two voices. whatever the message.

(Moon re Jeb Bush) They used to be neighbors of mine in Miami before he ran for Gov. He's not stupid. I never thought him stupid at all, but I left Florida finally for good about a year before he took office. How did you feel he did as Gov, Moon? He's supported some things I liked (work on Everglades restoration, ban offshore drilling) and some things I really disliked (Terry Schiavo issue).

The liberals say he commented loud and clear on Mumbai,and should on Gaza. Of course they are all cheering for Palestine. Figure that one out. I can't. Go to "The Nation". They're braying. George W. is getting the blame anyway, LOL, for siding with Israel..what crap. Cause I don't know why he did that either; it's not like he owes the Jewish vote and donors. Obama does. Moon, I'll search out Glen Beck, thanks. I seldom listen to talk radio. Only when I'm driving long distances. Not sure I'm understanding the Leon Panetta pick... Don't ask Diane Feinstein...she's pissed that she wasn't consulted. What a bunch of prima donnas. So he doesn't have intel experience..either does the Prez-elect...they'll learn on the job.

I'm not a big fan of Keith Olberman myself. Or at the very least I can only take him in small doses. He's gets a bit over-the-top for me. I prefer Rachel Maddow (who has Pat Buchanan on her show as a regular, I believe). I don't watch any of those shows regularly. And believe it or not, I used to watch that Fox show with Brit Hume and the panel very frequently, though not in quite a while. And I used to watch Tucker Carlson's show, too. Though really because I thought he was cute. ;-P But I believe he didn't really believe in some of that ridiculousness he spouted sometimes. It was just for a job. (Evelyn) So he doesn't have intel experience..either does the Prez-elect I wouldn't expect Obama to in that, though I expect the people he surrounds himself to. Hope LP won't be O's "Heckuva job, Brownie!" guy.

(Dorine), How did you feel he did as Gov, Moon? No complaints. Terry Schiavo should have been left to her family. I think that in some cases euthanasia is the sensible and humane way to go. Jeb's wife is Mexican, and it would be nice to have a latina as the First Lady. Evelyn, Glenn Beck has a TV show on Fox. The liberals say he commented loud and clear on Mumbai,and should on Gaza. Exactly!!! As I said before, he's taking the easy way out, and I'm not happy about it.

(Evelyn) The liberals say he commented loud and clear on Mumbai,and should on Gaza. (Moon) Exactly!!! As I said before, he's taking the easy way out, and I'm not happy about it. Not at all the same. There isn't--or wasn't--anything the US would be doing about a situation in India. Comdemning terrorism? That's what his statement was all about. It didn't interfer in another country's affairs or attempt to dictate a US policy. Totally different.

(karen)It didn't interfer in another country's affairs or attempt to dictate a US policy That's what I said in the first place. I don't know why Pres Bush had to go and back Israel. Let them duke it out on their own. What's in it for him? A lot of protests and assault on the embassy in Beirut. Jimmy Carter ,that loon, must be saying:"I told you so".

I can't figure out why our mayor had to show up there. Yes he needs the Jewish base here to help him get him the 3rd term (if that option is upheld in court), but there's a significant Arab or Arab sympathizing vote here as well. Not sure why he couldn't just stay home.

*shaking head*

at??

(karen)It didn't interfer in another country's affairs or attempt to dictate a US policy And this time is different? Since when has the US not tried? The US has always supported Israel over the Arab States. Of course now the US is a major presence in Iraq, so things are changing, but either way, the US is a major player in the Middle East. So I still think that BO should have commented. I pray Hillary will be able to do something to bring some peace to the area.

Feinstein Furious Over Panetta Pick Sen. Diane Feinstein is reportedly fuming that Barack Obama picked Leon Panetta as his new CIA Director and never consulted with her. Feinstein, the incoming chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, issued a sharp statement Monday that was a thinly veiled criticism of the pick. The statement made it clear that she had expected a career intelligence professional � unlike Panetta, who has no intelligence expertise whatsoever � to be leading the CIA. "I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director,�� Feinstein said. �I know nothing about this, other than what I've read," said Senator Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 111th Congress. "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time." Panetta could face tough questions at his nomination hearing about his background in intelligence. A former senior CIA official who advises Obama defended the surprise choice of Panetta, whose only military and intelligence experience is a two-year stint in the mid-1960s as a U.S. Army lieutenant. The official told the Associated Press that Panetta had been a consumer of CIA intelligence when he was at the White House. The source said Panetta was selected for his administrative, management and political skills that will allow him both to control and advocate for the agency. The official added that Panetta will rely on the expertise of CIA officers to balance his lack of personal intelligence experience. Veterans of the CIA were caught off guard by the selection. "I'm at a loss," said Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's counterterrorism center and 27-year veteran of the agency who now is managing director of Kroll, a security consulting company. The lack of intelligence experience puts Panetta at "a tremendous disadvantage," Grenier told The Associated Press in an interview. "Intelligence, by its very nature, is an esoteric world. And right now the agency is confronted with numerous pressing challenges overseas, and to have no background is a serious deficit. I don't say that he can't succeed. It may be that he can compensate for the obvious deficit." Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., ranking member of the committee, raised the specter of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in questioning Panetta's experience after reports surfaced that Obama had tapped the former congressman and White House chief of staff to head the CIA. �Job number one at the CIA is to track down and stop terrorists," Bond said in a statement reported by The Hill Web site. "In a post-9-11 world, intelligence experience would seem to be a prerequisite for the job of CIA Director." Bond said that he will refrain from judging Panetta immediately, but he warned Obama and Panetta that he "will be looking hard at Panetta�s intelligence expertise and qualifications.� � 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

BOb is v. astute to put his own man at the head of that agency. George W should have canned George Tenet , a Clinton appointee, when he came into office. He certainly didn't serve the president well. On the other hand, the Dems have been braying that intel has been 'politicized' under GB...so what do they call Panetta?

Diane Feinstein gets even... Burris rejected; Senate bid wins crucial support "Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators" http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_go_co/senate_burris

You watch, Jeb is waiting for the right time to make a grab for the golden ring. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_el_se/florida_senate_bush

Not a bad idea at all, esp when O may have a health reform plan he wants to sell. Definitely a friendly and familiar face. CNN: Gupta approached about surgeon general post By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer � Tue Jan 6, 6:25 pm ET CNN correspondent approached for surgeon general Play Video AP � CNN correspondent approached for surgeon general WASHINGTON � President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general, the cable network said Tuesday. CNN said it has kept Gupta from reporting on health care policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post. Two Democrats with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot said Gupta was under consideration but cautioned there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the matter. Obama's transition office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gupta hosts "House Call" on CNN, contributes reports to CBS News, and writes a column for Time magazine. He is a neurosurgeon and is on the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. During the Clinton administration, he was a White House fellow and special adviser to then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The surgeon general typically isn't heavily involved in shaping an administration's policy, but it can be a very effective bully pulpit. Past surgeons general have proved instrumental in battling tobacco and AIDS. Having such a well-known TV personality could bring the surgeon general attention not seen since C. Everett Koop help the position under President Ronald Reagan. Koop is best known for pushing to make AIDS a public health issue rather than a moral issue, and Reagan faced pressure to fire him. Koop has said Reagan never interfered. CNN said Gupta would not comment on the discussions and released a statement that said, "Since first learning that Dr. Gupta was under consideration for the surgeon general position, CNN has made sure that his on-air reporting has been on health and wellness matters and not on health care policy or any matters involving the new administration." CBS News is a unit of CBS Corp.; CNN is owned by Time Warner Inc. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090106/ap_on_go_pr_wh/surgeon_general

[W]e�re leaving [the Israeli/Palestinian situation] in a lot better shape than we found it . . . [I]n terms of changing the conversation in the Middle East about democracy and values, this Administration will be judged well . . . I think generations pretty soon are going to start to thank this President for what he�s done. This generation will. - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, two weeks ago http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/6/155633/2217/81/672150 (Bush Administration's Greatest Hits)

You know reading through that thread I posted the link to, I have to LOL at some of them, at their audacity. Mind boggling. A couple of my favorites so far are from Cheney (not caring what people think) and Barbara Bush. Props for brutal honesty I guess.

(Dorine)O may have a health reform plan he wants to sell. Definitely a friendly and familiar face. Not to me he ain't. I never look at CNN. Cute smile though and I'm all for diversity. No comments on Daily Kos. I won't give them my "click"

LOL!!

I'm just speechless... Joe the Plumber to become war correspondent TOLEDO, Ohio � Joe The Plumber is putting down his wrenches and picking up a reporter's notebook. The Ohio man who became a household name during the presidential campaign says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com. Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (WUR'-zuhl-bah-kur) says he'll spend 10 days covering the fighting. He tells WNWO-TV in Toledo that he wants to let Israel's "'Average Joes' share their story." Wurzelbacher gained attention during the final weeks of the campaign when he asked Barack Obama about his tax plan. He later joined Republican John McCain on the campaign trail. At one stop, he agreed with a McCain supporter who asked if he believed a vote for Obama was a vote for the death of Israel. ___ Information from: WNWO-TV, http://www.nbc24.com/

I like the picture of the 5 presidents http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_go_pr_wh/the_presidents__club Class. Never has been done before. Hope it sets a precedent.

I found it impressive to look at as well.

Wow. Doesn't this sound like an episode of 24 or a big budget movie? Unbelieveable. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_india

I read about this poor skier, but hadn't seen the pictures til now. What an incredibly freak accident. (5pics) http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0106091vail1.html

Those pictures are funny, but, poor guy! A lesson to be learned for sure. "Kill them," replied the handler. Gunshots then rang out, followed by cheering that could be heard over the phone. "Inflict the maximum damage," they said. That is so sick. Why are we closing Guantanamo Bay? White man's burden is it?

LOL, love this! Why didn't I think of this... London Journal Atheists Send a Message, on 800 British Buses By SARAH LYALL Published: January 6, 2009 LONDON — The advertisement on the bus was fairly mild, just a passage from the Bible and the address of a Christian Web site. But when Ariane Sherine, a comedy writer, looked on the Web site in June, she was startled to learn that she and her nonbelieving friends were headed straight to hell, to “spend all eternity in torment. This message — except the “probably” — has been approved by Richard Dawkins, scientist and author of “The God Delusion.” That’s a bit extreme, she thought, as well as hard to prove. “If I wanted to run a bus ad saying ‘Beware — there is a giant lion from London Zoo on the loose!’ or ‘The “bits” in orange juice aren’t orange but plastic — don’t drink them or you’ll die!’ I think I might be asked to show my working and back up my claims,” Ms. Sherine wrote in a commentary on the Web site of The Guardian. And then she thought, how about putting some atheist messages on the bus, as a corrective to the religious ones? And so were planted the seeds of the Atheist Bus Campaign, an effort to disseminate a godless message to the greater public. When the organizers announced the effort in October, they said they hoped to raise a modest $8,000 or so. But something seized people’s imagination. Supported by the scientist and author Richard Dawkins, the philosopher A. C. Grayling and the British Humanist Association, among others, the campaign raised nearly $150,000 in four days. Now it has more than $200,000, and on Tuesday it unveiled its advertisements on 800 buses across Britain. “There’s probably no God,” the advertisements say. “Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Spotting one of the buses on display at a news conference in Kensington, passers-by were struck by the unusual message. Not always positively. “I think it’s dreadful,” said Sandra Lafaire, 76, a tourist from Los Angeles, who said she believed in God and still enjoyed her life, thank you very much. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face.” But Sarah Hall, 28, a visitor from Australia, said she was happy to see such a robust example of freedom of speech. “Whatever floats your boat,” she said. Inspired by the London campaign, the American Humanist Association started running bus advertisements in Washington in November, with a more muted message. “Why believe in a god?” the ads read, over a picture of a man in a Santa suit. “Just be good for goodness’ sake.” Although Australian atheists were refused permission to place advertisements on buses saying, “Atheism: Sleep in on Sunday mornings,” the British effort has been striking in the lack of outrage it has generated. The Methodist Church, for instance, said it welcomed the campaign as a way to get people to talk about God. Although Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Church of England, Britain is a deeply secular country with a dwindling number of regular churchgoers, and with politicians who seem to go out of their way to play down their religious beliefs. In 2003, when an interviewer asked Tony Blair, then the prime minister, about religion, his spokesman, Alastair Campbell, interjected, snapping, “We don’t do God.” After leaving office, Mr. Blair became a Roman Catholic. More recently, Nick Clegg, a member of Parliament and the leader of the Liberal Democrats, announced that he was an atheist. (He later downgraded himself to agnostic.) David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, alluded to a popular radio station when he joked that his religious belief was like “the reception for Magic FM in the Chilterns: it sort of comes and goes.” Still, since Sept. 11, 2001, religion has played an ever more important role in public discussions, said Mr. Dawkins, the best-selling author of “The God Delusion,” with the government increasingly seeking religious viewpoints and Anglican bishops still having the automatic right to sit in the House of Lords. “Across Britain, we are used to being bombarded by religious interests,” he said, “not just Christians, but other religions as well, who seem to think that they have got a God-given right to propagandize.” Next week, the Atheist Bus Campaign plans to place 1,000 advertisements in the subway system, featuring enthusiastic quotations from Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, Douglas Adams and Katharine Hepburn. An interesting element of the bus slogan is the word “probably,” which would seem to be more suited to an Agnostic Bus Campaign than to an atheist one. Mr. Dawkins, for one, argued that the word should not be there at all. But the element of doubt was necessary to meet British advertising guidelines, said Tim Bleakley, managing director for sales and marketing at CBS Outdoor in London, which handles advertising for the bus system. For religious people, advertisements saying there is no God “would have been misleading,” Mr. Bleakley said. “So as not to fall foul of the code, you have to acknowledge that there is a gray area,” he said. He said that potential ads were rejected all the time. “We wouldn’t, for example, run an ad for an action movie where the gun was pointing toward the commuter,” he said. But Mr. Bleakley said he had no problem with the atheist bus ads. “We do have religious organizations that promote themselves,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t believe in religion, why wouldn’t we carry an ad that promotes the opposite view? To coin a phrase, it’s not for us to play God.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/europe/07london.html?em

WTF . Who cares?

I do. It's different. You see religious sayings on signs, esp in the South and Midwest. I never see anything like that. And I agree with them.

Sarah Palin says.... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17217.html “I did see that Tina Fey was named entertainer of the year and Katie Couric’s ratings have risen,” she said. “And I know that a lot of people are capitalizing on, oh I don’t know, perhaps some exploiting that was done via me, my family, my administration. That’s a little bit perplexing, but it also says a great deal about our society.” Um, didn't SP appear on SNL with Tina Fey to help capitalize and exploit herself as a spoof?

Was just rereading... (Evelyn) George W should have canned George Tenet , a Clinton appointee, when he came into office. He certainly didn't serve the president well. He got the Medal of Freedom. I guess the President didn't feel poorly served.

And was criticized for it. He shudda given him a gold watch. Um, didn't SP appear on SNL with Tina Fey to help capitalize and exploit herself as a spoof? Everyone else does it for altuism? Some people thought she was a good sport. I didn't see it. People 's religion or non means nothing in my life. I just don't want anyone to criticize me for mine or trash others'. Was just rereading... Oy, I wish I had that luxury;-)

From today's Wash Post, since we are on the subject: Palin Pummels the Press She's back: Sarah Palin, still smarting over coverage of her vice-presidential run, calls the media's reporting on her family "very scary" and says there may be "a class issue" that explains the more sympathetic treatment of Caroline Kennedy. The Alaska governor also took a swipe at Katie Couric over the CBS interview in which Palin stumbled badly, saying: "Katie, you're not the center of everyone's universe." Palin did her venting Monday with John Ziegler, a conservative radio talk show host turned filmmaker, who posted excerpts online to promote a forthcoming DVD titled "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected." "I think this woman was assassinated by the media," he said yesterday. By turns aggravated and bemused, Palin complained in the video that her press office is still getting calls about rumors that she is not the mother of her infant son. She called this "quite absurd," saying she is "frustrated that I wasn't believed that Trig was really my son. "When did we start accepting as hard news sources bloggers, anonymous bloggers especially? It's a sad state of affairs in the world of the media today, mainstream media especially, that they're going to rely on bloggers, anonymous bloggers, for their hard news information." Mainstream news outlets reported the rumor in September only after John McCain's campaign revealed the pregnancy of Palin's teenage daughter Bristol, citing the chatter about Trig as the reason for the disclosure. Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan -- who is hardly anonymous -- has questioned why Palin would not release medical records to prove she is the boy's mother, but has also posted information supporting her account. Although her campaign brushed aside most inquiries on the subject, Palin asked: "What is the double standard here, why reporters would choose to believe lies, reporters especially not just taking one extra step to get to the facts . . . Is it sexism? What is it that drives someone to believe the worst and perpetuate the worst, in terms of gossip and lies?" Palin also objected to reports that Bristol and her fiance, Levi Johnston, are "high school dropouts and they're going to just look for government handouts to raise their child and stuff, nothing could be further from the truth. And I've asked some in the media to correct that, and they haven't corrected it, and that gets frustrating." Palin contacted People magazine, the Associated Press and the Anchorage Daily News last week. She said Johnston -- who, according to the Anchorage paper, recently quit his job as an apprentice electrician -- is taking a high school correspondence course, and that Bristol is still a student. Palin was hit by an avalanche of coverage after her surprise nomination in August, some of it critical of her Alaska record and her qualifications for the vice presidency, and some of it more personal, questioning how she could handle the job with five children. Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" impersonation cemented an impression of her as a bit of a ditz. Ziegler showed Palin a clip of Fey saying, "I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers." Her reaction: "Cool, fine, come attack me, but when you make a suggestion like that that attacks a kid, that kills me." Palin questioned whether Kennedy's bid for an appointment to the Senate "will be handled with kid gloves," and if so, "we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here" when contrasted with the scrutiny of her campaign. Kennedy, of course, is not running for vice president but to be one of 100 lawmakers, and has drawn critical coverage lately for a series of halting interviews. Palin criticized the McCain camp's decision to send her back for a second round with Couric, and tried to explain why she declined to name a single publication she reads. Palin said she interpreted Couric's question as "Do you read, what do you guys do up there," but conceded: "Perhaps I was just too flippant in my answer back to her." Couric made no reference to Alaska in her question, asking, "What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this?" Asked by Ziegler how she would have fared as Barack Obama's running mate, Palin accused the press of ideological "hypocrisy," saying: "I think they would have loved me as a candidate . . . You would have seen an absolutely different and . . . much prettier profile of Sarah Palin and the Palin family and my administration." Would she do it again? "That's a darned good question," Palin said, before concluding that she would. But she doesn't want people in the "lower 48" being "sucked into believing what too many in the mainstream media want them to believe." Ziegler, whose film will be sold online next month, said Palin was "very concerned about appearing whiny" before the 50-minute sitdown at her Wasilla home. He said he found her Republican convention speech "awesome" but had wondered about the media portrayal of her as "a diva or a wack job." He now believes that "the fact that she's mocked is a travesty." On his Web site, Ziegler says that when Palin saw a picture of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, "she literally let out a shriek and, pointing to his photograph, declared, 'THAT guy is EVIL!' " Meanwhile, as Barack Obama tries to rally support for his gazillion-dollar stimulus plan, he's got one asset in his back pocket. Most people think the coverage of the incoming president has been fair. Even half of Republicans think the coverage has been fair. (Though that probably doesn't include Palin.) From where I sit, the media's post-election take on Obama has been unusually positive. Just look at all the slobbering over his shirtless photo (as if wearing swim trunks in Hawaii is breaking news), the breathless accounts of his workout regimen and basketball prowess. There have been critical stories, sure, about the stumbles on Bill Richardson and Leon Panetta, but by and large the transition is being portrayed as a smooth and successful one. The Pew Research Center says: "The American public is more likely to say the press has been too critical of President George W. Bush in his last days in office than to say the same about coverage of President-elect Barack Obama. About three-in-ten (29%) see coverage of Bush as too critical, while just 11% see coverage of Obama that way. Still, a plurality (41%) says press coverage of Bush has been fair, while a substantial majority (61%) says the same about coverage of Obama. About one-in-four find coverage of both not critical enough." There are clear partisan divisions: 62 percent of Republicans say the press has been too critical of Bush, compared to--yes--12 percent of Democrats. And while 37 percent of GOPers say the press hasn't been critical enough of Obama, 11 percent of Democrats feel that way. article continues here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010901291_3.html?hpid=topnews

(Evelyn) And was criticized for it. Rightly so. He didn't deserve it. He helped Cheney, et al, sell the Iraq War. Um, didn't SP appear on SNL with Tina Fey to help capitalize and exploit herself as a spoof? Everyone else does it for altuism? Some people thought she was a good sport. I didn't see it. Um, the point was that she was implying criticism of people exploiting her/her image (Tina Fey/Katie Couric) and she was a party to it appearing on SNL herself. I just don't want anyone to criticize me for mine or trash others'. Certainly. Anymore than I want religions and their followers telling me they're better than anyone else and that their way is the right/only way.

Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" impersonation cemented an impression of her as a bit of a ditz. She was doing just fine on that count by herself. She didn't need Tina Fey's help. Though I don't think she's as stupid as she looked at times. Couple that with her ambition and she's quite scary.

It is a new dawn in the govt. I'm glad to see they're working so fast to correct a most egregious decision by the Supreme Court. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_go_co/pay_equity

(Wash Post)"MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, "she literally let out a shriek and, pointing to his photograph, declared, 'THAT guy is EVIL!' " Nah, *that* would be a compliment, IMO ...KO is just an asshole. (Dorine)He didn't deserve it. He helped Cheney, et al, sell the Iraq War. The et al...I'm sure you mean "the Congress".

All of them, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, that Homeland Security guy....and Congress. Sell it to us.....the people of the US/World).

He has to bend to the left... http://www.guardian.co.uk:80/world/2009/jan/08/barack-obama-gaza-hamas esp after this vote: From "the Nation" http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/395300?rel=hp_picks

Think maybe they all invested with Madaoff...???? http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/09/goodwill-hunting-for-gowns/

(The Nation) And Obama? I'll take that on tomorrow. There's good news -- and, some really bad news. (Hint: the bad news is named Dennis Ross.) I'll have to read tomorrow. I'm intrigued as I have no idea who Dennis Ross is. Those people shopping at Goodwill might want to check out Filene's Basement, too. I've gotten a couple of good party gowns there at an *extremely* reasonable cost.

(The Nation)Hint: the bad news is named Dennis Ross.) "The Nation" probably doesn't like him because at one time he was a foreign analyst for FOX NEWS, but hey, so was their honey ,David Corn and Susan Echrich. But he has been a negotiator for Bush and Clinton.Considered a conservative Mid East scholar. V. reasonable . Inpeccable creds. Which is more than one can say for "The Nation"

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1823145,00.html

Quote of the Week:Roland Burris ""There was certainly no pay-to-play involved, because I don't have no money," The inference being that if he had money....perhaps....;-) I do think Blago outfoxed them all. Love it.

Hey Mari....in the "already starting column" ...here's one from one of yours Paul Krugman ,from the NYTimes ( tanking for lack of subscribers) http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/is-obama-relying-too-much-on-tax-cuts/?scp=4&sq=paUL%20KRUGMAN&st=cse He don't like Mr Obama's Recovery Plan.

from the NYTimes ( tanking for lack of subscribers) Actually, in what's becoming (or has been) a crisis with many newspapers (and an increasing # of magazines), they are losing print subscribers to online readers, but more importantly losing beaucoup ad $$$. Just read this morning the Seattle PI is going to fold totally or go online only in 60 days if they don't get increased funds. And massive cuts of writers/reporters along merging content and operations with other publications continue to go on. And before I even read it, I know Krugman is calling for a much larger recovery plan. I'd tend to consider what he says....he did get a Nobel Prize for economics. ;-) Doesn't mean he's always right, but I'd at least listen closely.

And massive cuts of writers/reporters along merging content and operations with other publications continue to go on. I mean across the board, not just the Seattle P-I.

I have 2 things to thank Bush for... Creating several new marine sanctuaries (though not completely protected, it's a start) and this, if true... http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ISRAEL?SITE=NCASH&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

My friend just emailed this to me....more people who are "natural enemies" should learn to live so peacefully together. The cat and rat are adorable together. (this is the note that is forwarded along with it) This is a video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets. They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture the rat came along, and as no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and, often, on the cat! The dog, will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches. The Mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a holiday card. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D85yrIgA4Nk

(Dorine) he did get a Nobel Prize for economics. ;-) I wouldn't place much stock in that.

Hence my disclaimer about him being right. ;-)

(Dorine) he did get a Nobel Prize for economics. ;-) (Karen)I wouldn't place much stock in that. Pssst... Nobel Peace Prize 1994

Oooh, I didn't remember him getting one.

It's the economics prize that I (and many others) don't place in the same category.

Why is that? Is it the criteria, the selection committee.....?

I don't envy Obama at all. Where does he (and his new staff and the new Congress) really go from here? (Couldn't help posting him, Evelyn. ;-) He calls it like it is, week after week.) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/opinion/11rich.html?_r=1&em

(Couldn't help posting him, Evelyn. ;-) He calls it like it is, week after week.) Yeah, yeah..and week after week it's the same ole mierde in his column too. So much for: "Let's all get along"now. Question: what is he (and *you*;-) going to do after Jan 20th? You are both going to have to find another tema. Doesn't take a genius to see why the NY Times is in trouble, does it? Not all their readership is transferring online. They keep recycling the same ole stuff from the same *old* columnists who have run out of fresh ideas and ovservations. But if it makes you feel any better go on. Hey, we all have to get our Drool -dues worth;-D

and week after week it's the same ole mierde in his column too. Well, I don't know what to say. You (and others) may not like it or agree, but he's not making it up. He's just cataloguing what happened and where we are. And you're right, it's been a big pile of you know what. Plain and simple. ;-) I can't help it our guy and his peeps f'd up massively. (Our guy meaning he's the President for all of us, no matter who voted for him) Rich is equal opportunity, he gets on liberals' cases also. what is he (and *you*;-) going to do after Jan 20th? He will do the same, call it how it is. I will watch what Obama does and complain vociferously if I'm not happy with what I see, as I have consistently with our most recent Democrat controlled Congress. Doesn't take a genius to see why the NY Times is in trouble, does it? Not all their readership is transferring online. Ok, who do you think they are and where are they going? And why?

Getting worse... Where is the UN? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_israel_white_phosphorus

Same place they were when we used it? For "illumination" of course. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4440664.stm

Oh, no... The Time Clock Has Run Out: Israel Ready to Strike Iran Informed sources in Washington tell Newsmax that Israel indeed will launch a strike against Iran�s nuclear facilities soon � possibly in just days as President George W. Bush prepares to leave office. The reason: The time clock has begun to run out. Iran is close to acquiring a nuclear device under the control of its radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in June that Iran would have a nuclear weapon in as little as six months. That six-month period has passed. Reports of Israel�s decision to imminently launch strikes, although unconfirmed, would seem to contradict the Bush stance outlined in a front-page New York Times story last week, which asserted that Bush rejected a plea from Israel last year to help it raid Iran�s main nuclear complex. The Times said Israel was rebuffed after it requested from the U.S. specialized bunker-busting bombs that it needs to attack Iran�s nuclear complex at Natanz. The U.S. also reportedly nixed permission to the Israeli warplanes to fly over Iraqi territory to reach Iran. Israel�s requests to the U.S. for military assistance came as the Jewish state was reportedly angry over a U.S. intelligence assessment in late 2007 that concluded Iran had effectively suspended its development of nuclear weapons. But an investigative report circulated by IAEA chief ElBaradei late last year disclosed that Iran was continuing to carry out uranium enrichment and had already established 6,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium, of which 3,800 were then in operation. American intelligence officials now estimate that the figure is 4,000 to 5,000 centrifuges, enough to produce about one weapon�s worth of uranium every eight months or so, according to the Times. The IAEA report estimated that Iran has obtained two tons of enriched uranium since its enrichment program was restarted at Natanz two years ago. Last year 100 Israeli jets took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean that was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran. And on Sept. 6 Israel launched an air attack against a site in Syria believed to be a nuclear-related facility containing material delivered by North Korea. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton predicted that Israel would stage a raid against Iran's nuclear facilities if Barack Obama won the presidential election. Bolton stated that he believed the Israeli attack would take place sometime between the day after Obama's win and his inauguration on January 20. In an interview with FOX News, Bolton reasoned that Israel wouldn�t be able to hold off a strike on Iran any longer than that given Obama�s more conciliatory approach to Iran. The Israeli government �would have to make a judgment whether to [strike] during the remainder of President Bush�s term in office or wait for his successor,� Bolton added. William Perry, U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton, said that Obama would face a major crisis in his first few months in office over Iran�s nuclear weapons program. Perry, speaking at a foreign policy conference on Jan. 8, said that Iran is "moving inexorably toward becoming a nuclear power" and �it seems clear that Israel will not sit by idle while Iran takes the final steps toward becoming a nuclear power." And former CIA officer Robert Baer, author of the new book �The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower,� told Newsmax in October that Iran was at that time probably months, if not weeks, away from war with Israel. The repercussions of an Israeli attack are not clear. Though Arab states remain openly hostile to Israel, many who belong to the Sunni branch of Islam fear the rise of a nuclear Iran, a nation dominated by Shiite imams. Gulf states like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been quietly pressing the U.S. to take action against Iran � and may secretly root for an Israeli attack. But Iran, even without nuclear weapons, is a regional power. If attacked, they are likely to press proxy terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to launch offensives against Israel and possibly the U.S. Iran has warned in the past that it would launch a �missile blitz� against Gulf states if it is attacked. And last July a senior Iranian official said the Islamic Republic would destroy Israel and 32 U.S. military bases in the Middle East if Iran is attacked over its nuclear program. �Israel and 32 U.S. military bases in the region would not be out of the reach of our missiles and would be destroyed," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Mojtaba Zolnour as saying in a speech. Zolnour is the deputy of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. Even more ominously, Iran has reportedly carried out missile tests for what could be a plan for a nuclear strike on the U.S. � 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

I'm curious to see how much slack the press will BHO once he takes the office. I got an email from moveon.org to train me to become an BHO lobbyist. I'm to be his little private soldier on the ready to email, write, call, demonstrate: to do whatever it takes to pass the O agenda. I have never seen anything like what moveon has done in this election. Big Brother anyone? :-(

Barrack having dinner with George tonight . (not that one...annuder....)also with Larry Kudlow (one of my fave shows) who did not host his show tonight because.... http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/obama_dines_with_conservative.php

From SLATE ( liberal website;-)): Christopher Hitchens : On Hill and Bill.... http://www.slate.com/id/2208425/?GT1=38001

Speaking of Christopher Hitchens, that reminds me I wanted to post an article of his in Vanity Fair in one of the last 2 issues. Very amusing take on his efforts at better health/more exercise. I may not always agree with his politics (though do on religion sometimes), I enjoy his writing (and speaking). Did you, Evelyn, or anyone see it? I'll look for it later. I don't recall posting already anyway. (Moon) I'm to be his little private soldier on the ready to email, write, call, demonstrate: to do whatever it takes to pass the O agenda. I have never seen anything like what moveon has done in this election. Um, where were you the last 8-10 years when the Republicans (and Karl Rove) were masters of it. The Dems/liberal organizations just finally got their acts together and caught on.

Let 'er r ip, Mickey... http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/79536/Rourke-Bush-was-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time *snort* Maybe I'll have to see "The Wrestler" after awl. Dorine,I don't read "Vanity Fair" , or at least buy it. (And I don't see Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins movies either;-)

But you like Christopher Hitchens, right?

I'm presuming all of Washington (and probably everywhere else) must employ undocumented workers as household help. I think this comes up with an appointee at least once an administration. They do thorough background checks. Do these people when they accept the positions think this stuff won't be found out?

Sorry Micky, this shit is not about Christians and Muslims. It's about fundamental Muslims and the world. It's about Palestinians and the Jews. It's about a phoney prophet named Mohammed and his hateful suras in the Koran. (me), I got an email from moveon.org to train me to become an BHO lobbyist. I'm to be his little private soldier on the ready to email, write, call, demonstrate: to do whatever it takes to pass the O agenda. I have never seen anything like what move.on has done in this election. Big Brother anyone? :-( (Dorine), Um, where were you the last 8-10 years when the Republicans (and Karl Rove) were masters of it. The Dems/liberal organizations just finally got their acts together and caught on. Totally different! Karl Rove who was the genius behind getting Bush elected, IMO, never sent emails to regular people asking them to do all the things move.on is doing to promote an O agenda. If he had something to do, he turned to the politicians.

Re: undocumented workers: I have always made them sign a document that states that they will report their income to the IRS. I pay them, they report it and pay their taxes directly. The ones from Central and South America in my experience are trust worthy and hard workers. Most of them are practicing Catholics and would never steal, etc.

(Dorine)They do thorough background checks. Do these people when they accept the positions think this stuff won't be found out? From what I read the Obama transition team knew about this and didn't think it would make a difference. What arrogance! And then there's that whiny, sniveling Harry Reid saying it was only a "hiccup". What an embarassment he is. Well, it's not a "hiccup". The guy will be the boss of the IRS, fergodsake. However, that being said, I *do* want him confirmed...because he's good at what he does and I want him to get on with it. So *I*can pay my taxes .

An update on the atheist bus ads in Britain. I'd like to think people use it as a platform for openmindedness and open discussion rather than taking offense. http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090116/ts_csm/oatheist

(Evelyn) From what I read the Obama transition team knew about this and didn't think it would make a difference. What arrogance! Well, it's always made a difference before. That's stupid. Harry Reid saying it was only a "hiccup". What an embarassment he is. Can't agree more with you here.

On Jan. 6 some 800 British red "bendy" buses carried the sign: "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Hear that Muslims? ;-)

I saw that article yesterday and thought of you, but decided not to post it... knew you would The headline word I read is Unruffled which I think is Brit-speak for "Who cares";-D (Dorine) ...think people use it as a platform for openmindedness and open discussion rather than taking offense. Open discussion???From a bus banner??? *snort*You're kidding. Like: "Oh I just saw this sign on the bus that said there is no God" Jeeze, maybe I should look into this".. C'mon.

That's the spirit!! :-/

I didn't know there were acceptable and unacceptable ways of spurring on discussion. Even in middle age, I still learn something new everyday. ;-)

Linda Mc....you know who this person is? Australian singer-songwriter Emma Sophina Did you hear on your news that she was on that plane? http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/01/16/2009-01-16_australian_songwriter_emma_sophina_sings.html

I was reading in one of the plane stories that some guy from the Bronx was one of the first 911 callers after hearing a boom and seeing the plane in trouble. It just occurred to me that the planes from there sometimes take off and head south, in the opposite trajectory as illustrated, literally right over my apt bldg. Had it happened when they were flying that way, he may have been able to make JFK as it's just 5 miles south of me (I live equidistant between both airports). The Jamaica Bay is right there too, if he couldn't quite make the runway. I'm wondering if the outcome and injuries might have been much worse even if he could've landed at the airport. I was reading an article today that said something I didn't know....our Port Authority of NY/NJ, which runs/owns the airports, kill thousands of birds a year to avoid incidences such as these. Sometimes they scare them away and also put some kind of oil on eggs so they don't hatch. :-( And I did read of at least one person interviewed who was in a NY hospital with hypothermia. I'd imagine more then.

(Dorine)I didn't know there were acceptable and unacceptable ways of spurring on discussion. Even in middle age, I still learn something new everyday. ;-) Not "acceptable or unacceptable" just "realistic". And you're not middle age;-D

Closing

(Evelyn) And you're not middle age;-D Speaking of realistic....by most scales, I'm technically middle aged. ;-) And I'm ok with that. :-D

Wow. http://cbs11tv.com/national/plane.crash.hudson.2.909513.html There'a video of it landing too, but I can't get a link that will copy.

From the NYT: January 17, 2009 The Films Are Green, but Is Sundance? By MICHAEL CIEPLY PARK CITY, Utah � If it were possible to cleanse the planet by watching a movie, this would be the place to do it. In 2006 this city�s showcase event, the Sundance Film Festival, forged what promises to be an enduring link between the cinematic arts and things environmental with a debut screening of �An Inconvenient Truth,� the Al Gore documentary about global warming that went on to win an Academy Award. This time around the festival � which opened on Thursday and runs through Jan. 25 � has a schedule that�s greener than Fifth Avenue on St. Patrick�s Day. At least seven movies with strong environmental themes are set for world premieres here, culminating with the closing-night film, �Earth Days.� A documentary by the director Robert Stone, �Earth Days� is billed by festival programmers as �the history of our environmental undoing,� seen through the eyes of nine people who helped to initiate the modern eco-movement, including Stewart Udall, the former secretary of the interior, and the biologist Paul Ehrlich. Still, a stroll here this week down Main Street � where a dozen idling trucks were unloading supplies and equipment, while an oversize band bus, with trailer in tow, spewed fumes outside a soon-to-be-busy party site � framed the obvious quandary: how can you cram some 46,000 people, roughly equivalent to a fifth of Hollywood�s total work force, into a pretty little mountain town without contributing mightily to the problems your films hope to solve? The airlift alone should give pause to the likes of Mr. Udall, or to the makers of �No Impact Man,� a documentary about the effort by a New Yorker, Colin Beavan, and his family to live for a year without making a net environmental impact. �I think one of the lessons I learned in making this film is, I don�t think there is such a thing as being truly green,� Justin Schein, who directed �No Impact Man� with Laura Gabbert, said while standing outside its first Sundance screening on Friday morning. �It�s about asking the questions.� Los Angeles to Park City is about 692 miles by the old wagon route, though most visitors seem to come by air through Salt Lake City � many by private jet. According to a report last year by Flight Options, a transit firm based in Cleveland, the Sundance festival helped make Salt Lake City the nation�s No. 2 destination for fuel-guzzling private flights, behind West Palm Beach, Fla. Even freeloading journalists could take a charter flight this year: Expressjet was offering a select group of reporters free rides on a 41-seat plane from Los Angeles on Friday. If Expressjet found takers, the flight would get its passengers here in plenty of time for the Sunday evening screening of �Crude,� about the struggle between Ecuador�s indigenous people and the Chevron Corporation over toxic oil waste left behind by the makers of petroproducts like those that fly the planes, not to mention those fueling the limousines and rental cars that make the nearly 40-mile run to Park City from the Salt Lake airport. Utility officials said there was no way to determine how much extra wattage was being poured into the valley for the festival�s spotlights and the strings of colored bulbs lining Park City�s streets. �Pinpointing use for one city,� said Margaret Oler, an information officer with Pacificorp, which provides power to the area, �can be pretty difficult.� Outside the Filmmakers Lodge, a central gathering spot for Sundance participants, a sign assured festivalgoers: �Electricity used for all venues and theaters is offset by clean, renewable wind energy.� It explained that the energy for the festival�s official screenings comes through Rocky Mountain Power�s Blue Skies program, which provides wind-powered electricity. On Sunday evening, green.msn.com and Self magazine plan to join Greenhouse, a New York City nightclub using environmentally sustainable materials, in sponsoring what they called a big, �ecofriendly� party for �Crude� at the Sky Lodge in Park City. In what could be seen as a bit of excess, �Crude� is actually being celebrated by two such gatherings. The other was a Friday night tent party sponsors billed as �the biggest eco-bash in Sundance history.� Supposedly, Sting, Danny DeVito and Lindsay Lohan were among those scheduled to enjoy the �full open bar all evening,� in honor of four films: �Crude�; �The End of the Line,� about fished-out oceans; �Dirt! The Movie,� about the exhaustion of our soil; and �Big River Man,� about an endurance athlete who sets out to swim the Amazon, braving predators and toxic waste. �The Cove,� about environmental watchdogs dogging dolphin wranglers in Japan, is to get its own party on Sunday, under the sponsorship of Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, among others. But on Wednesday, before a single party began, ecofriendly or otherwise, the dirt was already piling up here. The crew of one truck along Main Street was peeling big packing sheets off what appeared to be even bigger plasma television screens, brought in to brighten the festival proceedings. The foam packing would offset more than a few of the plastic water bottles festival sponsors hope to eliminate with a new program by the Brita and Nalgene companies, which are providing reusable bottles to be refilled at �hydration stations.� If that doesn�t work, Fiji Water was offering its conventional bottles of water at one of the many promotional boutiques on Main. A new concept car from Honda � a hydrogen-powered vehicle � sat inside the walls of a just-completed plexiglass tent at the corner of Seventh and Main Streets in the heart of downtown Park City, promoting the green pleasures of its energy conservation. Also inside, a young woman was asked how she was able to keep warm in the frigid mountain air. �We have heaters,� she said. �Big, electric heaters blowing some heat in here.� http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/movies/17green.html?_r=1&ref=movies

Sounds like something that Amnesty Intl needs to make a doc about: Iraqi shoe thrower to seek Swiss asylum: lawyer By FRANK JORDANS � 7 hours ago GENEVA (AP) � A Swiss lawyer working on behalf of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday his client will seek political asylum in Switzerland. Geneva-based lawyer Mauro Poggia said Muntadhar al-Zeidi's life is in danger if he stays in Iraq. Al-Zeidi has been detained in an Iraqi jail awaiting trial since he was seized by guards after his Dec. 14 outburst at a joint news conference in Baghdad by Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "He is in danger over there," Poggia told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. "He's also in danger in other Muslim countries because people who support his action could try to make him a martyr." Al-Zeidi's gesture of anger at Bush turned the employee of a minor TV station into a national hero to many Iraqis fed up with America's six-year presence in the country. But concern has been raised about his safety after allegations that he had been severely beaten and tortured in detention. Poggia said any harm caused to al-Zeidi could trigger violent protests in Iraq. "I think it's in the interest of the current Iraqi government that nothing happens to Mr. al-Zeidi," he said. The lawyer said he was contacted earlier this month by al-Zeidi's relatives because of Switzerland's reputation as a safe, neutral country. Geneva is the seat of the Red Cross movement and the European headquarters of the United Nations. "My client needs to make his request at the Swiss embassy in Baghdad when he is released," said Poggia. "But we don't know when he will be able to do that because he still hasn't gone to trial." Al-Zeidi, 30, had been due to face a trial last month on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader, but the court date was postponed after his defense filed a motion to reduce the charges to simply insulting Bush. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iOE4dE7uVORfakOB9pl5geqqp1YgD95Q5KAG0

What a sweet ticket! He gets to leave that mess in Iraq and go live in Switzerland? LOL! He's a genius! Did anyone see the "We R One" concert yesterday? Can we feel the love? I was so happy to see black artists not rapping!!! You can do it guys, keep it up. What I got from the program was a sense that America and Americans are back, heads held high and proud. I pray to God that it is so. Kumbaya my Lord and all that jazz. ;-)

people who support his action could try to make him a martyr." That's right, kill the guy because you like something he did. I hope they give him asylum and a medal. I saw the first part of the concert, but was rather bored. When the Navy Glee Club or whatever came out, I went back to the infinitely more interesting football game.

people who support his action could try to make him a martyr." (Dorine) That's right, kill the guy because you like something he did. Yes, because martyrdom is a good thing. Ask they guys who strap on explosive vests. Oh wait... you can't. ;-)

Funnily enough, I was pondering this very thing an hour or so ago driving around in the snow. Mr. President, it's cold outside Sat Jan 17, 9:17 pm ET It's cold, maybe even freezing. Sometimes it snows. So why do we have to have a huge outdoor event to inaugurate a new president on January 20? Our first president, George Washington, was smart enough to get himself inaugurated on a more balmy April 30, 1789. What went wrong? In short, the Constiution did it. Inaugurations used to be held in March to give electors four months to cast their ballots. But the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution changed the date to Jan. 20, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's second swearing-in ceremony in 1937 was the first held on the new date. FindLaw says a report from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary offered some reasons for the change: "[W]hen our Constitution was adopted there was some reason for such a long intervention of time between the election and the actual commencement of work by the new Congress.... Under present conditions [of communication and transportation] the result of elections is known all over the country within a few hours after the polls close, and the Capital City is within a few days' travel of the remotest portions of the country.... "Another effect of the amendment would be to abolish the so-called short session of Congress.... Every other year, under our Constitution, the terms of Members of the House and one-third of the Members of the Senate expire on the 4th day of March.... Experience has shown that this brings about a very undesirable legislative condition." In other words, that's an awfully long lame-duck session, and we now have airplanes and 24-hour news and the Internet � in 2008, we knew Obama would be the next president by 11pm ET. As the 2000 election reminded us, we don't always know who's going to president by the end of election night. And in the days of yore, presidents had to physically move to the nation's capital without the help of FedEx, super highways and United hubs. Getting our president to work on time � that seems a worthwhile amendment. And not to worry: President-elect Obama says a chilly weather report won't deter him from the traditional outdoor ceremony. So if you're headed to D.C. to catch the big show for yourself, you might want to take some advice from Karin Tanabe at the Huffington Post, who has clearly been debating "what to wear?" for quite some time: "So what does one wear to be sandwiched between total strangers for hours while craning your neck to see a Jumbotron in sub-zero weather? Clothing you never want to see again. Don't mind if a reveler accidentally flamb�s your parka? Then by all means wear it. And then throw another one on top for good measure. Spent your entire month's salary on stilettos so fabulous you had them sewn to your feet? It's time to cut them off and wear the sensible shoes favored by nuns and your Aunt Mildred." Even if you're cold and not-so-comfortable, it's always a special moment watching a new leader say these famous words: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20090117/pl_ynews/ynews_pl207

Oh, I Tivo'd it. There was no way in hell I was going to sit through cheesy Josh Grogan and some of the other stuff, including the Navy Glee Club, Fleming and a long Garth Brook set. ;-) I even FF Tom Hanks. But I did like the fast pacing. DC should have more concerts, it has a great background.

But martyring themselves isn't the same scenario. I understand it's a good thing, and I'd understand if they'd kill him in prison in the course of torturing him for it, then of course he'd be a martyr, but not getting out and just have someone kill you randomly on purpose.

(Dorine) But martyring themselves isn't the same scenario. It doesn't matter whether one does it on one's own volition or at someone else's hand. What this article shows is that this guy doesn't want to be a martyr, i.e., he's scared and is seeking refuge (again, a shoutout to certain activists Brits) but is willing to stand up and throw his shoes, shoulder to shoulder with his countrymen. Hmmmm....

Did anyone see the "We R One" concert yesterday? Me. In the background. I liked it. Esp he Glee club:-))) Nice to see the Obama family enjoying themselves. I liked Michelle's outfit, and of course, you *know* I love her hair style:-)))) Eager to see her wardrobe for tomorrow. She wears clothes well. (Karen)...he's scared and is seeking refuge Ayyyyy, pobrecito. Too late, LOL. Hey, under Saddam he would have been hung. Jail is a trip.

Uh oh...now we know Hill was an afterthought.... She won't be happy.... http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/61592900/1

You're right Evelyn. He has to be responsible for his actions, period. Be a man you asinine ninny. I liked Michelle's outfit yesterday, for once, I don't like her style. Oscar de la Renta created Hillary's gown for tomorrow night.

Please no one here doubt that Hillary was Obama's choice for anything. In 2000 Gore won and Bush took office, in 2008 Hillary won but Obama is taking office. It's pay back, period.

(Moon) Please no one here doubt that Hillary was Obama's choice for anything. My guess/assumption has been that at some point, they made a deal, like Blair and Brown. And before Biden was the VP nominee, it was said he would be a front candidate for State. I liked his answer in the New Yorker as to why he would pick the VP job, or not.

Oh, and I forgot to ask, how is the Obama/Hillary scenario payback for Gore/Bush? One set was in the same party. Who's getting paid back?

(Moon)In 2000 Gore won and Bush took office, in 2008 Hillary won but Obama is taking office. Huge diference, not the same thing at all. In 2000, Gore won the popular vote for President. Hill never got that far. Sheesh. I saw some of the concert, will catch the rest tonight, as I DVR'ed it. (Evelyn)I liked it. Esp he Glee club:-))) I liked them too. I have a soft spot for those in our military.